Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU | G17AS00093

Opportunity Information: Apply for G17AS00093

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G17AS00093) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) discretionary funding program that supports science and technology research focused on developing and testing phenological prediction models for the United States. Structured as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 15.808, the award is intended for a partner within the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network, with eligibility limited to those partners identified in the opportunitys additional eligibility guidance. USGS anticipated making a single award with a maximum funding amount (award ceiling) of $90,000. The opportunity was posted on June 22, 2017, with an original application deadline of July 7, 2017.

The central purpose of the project is to improve understanding and prediction of organismal phenology, meaning the timing of recurring biological events such as leaf-out, flowering, and other seasonal transitions. The work is designed to operate across both space and time, scaling from local, individual-level observations to broad, national-scale patterns that can be evaluated historically, in near-real time, and under future climate conditions. The research emphasis is on turning observations into predictive tools that help explain when phenological transitions occur and how those transitions respond to climate variability and change, with an explicit link to practical natural resource management needs.

A defining feature of this opportunity is the required use of high-quality, national in-situ plant phenology observations curated by the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN). These data represent ground-based observations of phenophases collected across the country, which can be used to train and validate models. The project is expected to develop and test models that connect local phenology observations to climatic drivers that trigger phenological events. One example driver named in the opportunity is accumulated temperature, a common metric used to represent heat accumulation over time that can cue events like budburst or flowering. By explicitly linking observed phenophase transitions to climate variables, the work aims to produce models that can reliably generalize across species ranges and geographic regions.

The deliverables emphasized in the announcement go beyond academic model development and focus on producing usable decision-support products. The primary outputs are phenology maps that display predicted timing of phenological transitions as they unfold across species ranges. These maps are intended to cover multiple time horizons: retrospective (historical), current, and prospective (future) scenarios. In practice, that means stakeholders could use the products to visualize where and when leafing or flowering is likely to occur, how those timings have shifted over time, and how they may change under different climate conditions.

The opportunity also highlights dissemination and community impact as an expectation. The resulting models and map products are intended to be delivered to both research and user communities and promoted through the USA-NPN website. This indicates an applied, service-oriented focus: the work should be packaged in a way that supports broader research, conservation planning, land and wildlife management, and other resource management applications that depend on understanding seasonal biological timing and its sensitivity to climate.

• The Department of the Interior, Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 22, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 07, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $90,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for G17AS00093

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